By Matt de Simone
Botetourt County Libraries are inviting guests to help celebrate the 51st solar eclipse of the 21st century.
The libraries will hold a Solar Eclipse Celebration this Saturday, March 30, at all Botetourt branches. The celebration event takes place from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Visitors have the opportunity to learn more about the upcoming total solar eclipse through hands-on activities geared toward Botetourt’s younger, aspiring scientists.
Activities help teach kids about the solar system and include: star constellation tracing, making a solar system model, eclipse chalk art, and solar system coloring sheets. This program is recommended for children ages 5-12.
This celebration is in anticipation of the total solar eclipse taking place on Monday, April 8, which will be visible across all of North America. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), there were 228 solar eclipses in the 20th century (1901-2000) with 71 being considered “total” solar eclipses. April 8’s will be the 15th total solar eclipse this century.
Attendees will receive a free pair of solar eclipse glasses (while supplies last), and they’ll be entered in a drawing for a special goodie bag. According to NASA, besides the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the moon completely blocks the sun’s bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing. Viewing any part of the bright sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury.
There are four types of solar eclipses: total, partial, annular (“full”), and hybrid. The April 8 total solar eclipse is when the moon’s umbral (total) shadow traverses Earth.
The last total solar eclipse occurred on December 4, 2021, but took place in the early morning hours. The next solar eclipse is scheduled to occur between 1:58 p.m. and 4:29 p.m., with its “peak” visibility occurring around 3:15 p.m. In the Botetourt region, onlookers will see approximately 88% of the sun obscured by the moon.
This solar eclipse is the first of two scheduled eclipses in 2024. The next one is cycled for October 2. This century, 2024’s solar eclipses are just two of 224 scheduled events, of which 77 will be partial, 72 will be annular, 68 will be total, and seven will be hybrids.
Learn more about the 2024 total eclipse including when and where the eclipse will take place from NASA: https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html.
To learn more about Botetourt Libraries programming, visit https://www.botetourtva.gov/308/Programs-Classes.
